


31. 'Don't worry about me'

by roadsoftrial



Series: Mari's 100 'I love you' Challenge [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Post-Dawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 13:06:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16137860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roadsoftrial/pseuds/roadsoftrial
Summary: ‘Gladio? You ok?’Gladio attempts to turn his head towards the source of the sound, but it’s slow and tedious, as if all of his efforts are going towards controlling that movement, and Noctis can immediately tell something is off.‘Hey. I’m… um, not really ok.’In which Noctis helps Gladio through his back pains.





	31. 'Don't worry about me'

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day 7 of Gladnoct week, as well as part of my [100 ways challenge](https://thelegendarynoctgar.tumblr.com/post/175406891625/iloveyouguidelines) over on tumblr!

Noctis walks into his Citadel chambers that evening to dimmed lights and a pained groan that could only belong to Gladio. There’s something disconcerting about the atmosphere that reigns in their shared quarters, like something isn’t quite right, enough to rush him out of his regal attire, leaving the lot in a messy pile on the floor, and towards the bedroom. 

That’s where he finds Gladio, laying on his back in the middle of their large bed, hands folded on top of his chest, fully clothed. The covers are intact underneath him, as if he had just flopped there and not moved since.

‘Gladio? You ok?’

Gladio attempts to turn his head towards the source of the sound, but it’s slow and tedious, as if all of his efforts are going towards controlling that movement, and Noctis can immediately tell something is off.

‘Hey. I’m… um, not really ok.’

‘What’s up?’

‘Um... I fucked my back training some new recruits. Tried to sleep it off and now I can barely move.’

Noctis chuckles quietly as he loosens his tie and rolls up the sleeves of his black dress shirt, making his way to the side of the bed so Gladio can talk to him without straining his neck too much.

‘They were that good?’

‘Nah, the opposite. Nothing harder to predict than morons who don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.’

‘I know, we’ve been sparring for years now,’ Noctis lets out with a cheeky grin that Gladio rolls his eyes at before wincing again.

‘Don’t start when you know I can’t get up to kick your ass,’ he says in a low voice, a quivering grin on his lips that quickly falters as he closes his eyes and starts breathing slowly through his nose. Noctis would normally continue teasing him, but he gets the distinct feeling there’s something more to this than a nasty back ache, so he reins it in for now.

‘Sorry, sorry. Um… Can I do anything to help?’

‘I… I need you to give me a massage,’ he grumbles, obviously bothered that he has to ask this of him at all.

‘I feel like I’m being set up for some shitty handjob joke,’ Noctis chuckles, but he comes closer and sits at Gladio’s side regardless, careful not to dip the bed too much, careful not to make the pain worse than it has to be.

‘Trust me, I’m pretty sure just joking about that is gonna make it worse,’ Gladio says as he tries to roll onto his side, which only makes the pain sharper, causing him to flop back where he started, grimacing as a breathy ‘ _Fuck,’_ escapes his lips.

‘Don’t move, alright? Just tell me what to do.’

Noctis has an idea of what kind of massage he needs, having been on the receiving end of it many times in his youth. It’s the kind that’s rough and deep and impersonal, the kind that doesn’t exactly feel any kind of good or intimate, but always manages to release the pain when no other option is within reach. Noctis doesn’t exactly look back fondly on those massages, always too harsh for his liking, but he cherishes the memories of what always came before them, of Gladio’s concerned expression when he’d notice Noctis was in pain after long hours of training, of his gentleness as he’d help him out of his shirt, as he rubbed his strong, calloused hands, surprisingly soft and tender, against the scarred skin of his back, slowly warming it up before diving in. There’s a tinge of nostalgia, mixed with something a bit more unsettling, to the thought of returning the favour after so many years. As far as Noctis is aware, this is the first time Gladio has ever needed one, and he feels a weight in the pit of his stomach at the thought that Gladio is hurt enough that he’d resort to asking Noctis to do this for him, Gladio’s who’s always so controlled, unshakeable, unbreakable, Gladio who so rarely asks for help, who so rarely asks anything of him.

‘Just… help me turn over,’ Gladio says, ‘I’ll tell you what to do.’

It’s a slow and tedious process as Noctis helps Gladio sit up and unfastens the countless buttons from his uniform before throwing the heavy garment on the floor. He then grabs Gladio’s arm and shoulder and uses all of his upper body strength to flip the other man onto his stomach, all amidst a whirlwind of groans and swearing and apologies. Once Gladio is safely set, both arms folded under his chin, Noctis straddles him, sitting in the familiar dip between Gladio’s ass and thighs, the one Ignis often jokes was custom made for him, and slides his cool hands under Gladio’s singlet, slipping the fabric as far up his back as possible, half to get it out of the way, half because he would never miss an occasion to admire the breathtaking sight that is Gladio’s body, still so sharp and defined after so many years. He takes a moment to run his hands across the tattooed skin, across the lines that have started to fade with time, still impressive and intimidating, no matter how many times he’s seen them before.

‘Anyone ever tell you you’re gorgeous?’ Noctis asks, an impudent note in his voice as he attempts to brighten the mood. He slides his hand all the way to the back of Gladio’s head, slipping his fingers into his tied hair, combing through it to remove the black hairtie. The graying strands fall slowly across his shoulders, and Noctis can’t help carding his fingers deeper, scratching lightly at Gladio’s scalp in the way he knows his husband loves.

‘Constantly,’ Gladio grunts, clearly in no mood to play around. ‘Can you get started please?’ he asks, a touch of impatience in his voice.

‘Fine…’ Noctis sighs, getting back to his former spot. ‘So what do you want me to do?’

‘Get some lotion, warm up the skin and just… dig in from the side towards the spine. And go hard. With your palms and knuckles.’

‘Aye Captain,’ Noctis mocks before getting up to grab a bottle of body lotion from the bathroom.

‘Don’t...’ Gladio starts, but the rest of his sentence dies out somewhere in the tight space between his arms and the comforter.

Noctis doesn’t press him for more as he gets back to his seat. He squirts a dollop of lotion on his hands and rubs them together as a silence that shouldn’t feel this heavy falls between them.

‘You’re… actually mad about this, aren’t you?’ Noctis finally asks as he poses his cold hands against the rough skin of Gladio’s lower back, startling a shiver through his entire body.

‘About what?’

‘That it happened.’

Gladio takes a moment to respond, breathing slowly as he tries to find the right words.

‘…So what if I am?’

‘Nothing. You just… you don’t need to be. That stuff happens, it’s not a big deal.’

‘It shouldn’t happen, and it is a big deal,’ he hisses.

‘Hey now,’ Noctis says, a touch more authoritative than he’d intended as he pushes onto his knees, stretching himself over so his face finds the pit between Gladio’s shoulder and neck, so Gladio won’t miss a word he says. ‘It _happens._ No one thinks any less of you for it, Gladio. Especially not me.’

‘I’m… fuck, Noct, how am I supposed to protect you if—'

‘Don’t worry about me,’ Noctis interrupts calmly as he gets back to a seating position

‘Noct…’

‘I mean, I want you to worry about me, y’know? But it’s just… we’re a team, now, more than ever. I don’t… I don’t intend on dying any time soon, and I plan on keeping you alive, too. I… I dunno, man, you’re not just my shield anymore, you’re… you’re my Gladio, y’know?’ And I want you around for a long time.’

Gladio doesn’t respond, letting the words sink in, breathing slowly as Noctis continues rubbing his hands against his skin.

‘You’re right,’ he finally whispers. ‘It’s just… it’s hard to move on, I guess. And accept that we ain’t 20 anymore and…’

‘We’re old, Gladio,’ Noctis chuckles. ‘We’re just… we’re old, and things have changed. And fucking up our backs, and being cranky, and having to be more careful… it’s part of the deal.’

Gladio’s quiet laughter is muffled as his face falls back into his arms, but it’s good to hear it sound so light, so sincere at last.

‘We’ve been dealt a bitch of a shitty hand in this life,’ Noctis continues, his voice low and distant, like he’s not quite talking to Gladio anymore. ’I.. I think we’re allowed to take it easy, now, just a little.’

Gladio slowly reaches his hand out at that, blindly searching for Noctis’ collar, and pulling him down when he finally finds it. Noctis stops his fall with both hands, laughing softly as Gladio turns his head to face him, a shy, bittersweet smile on his lips, and that’s when Noctis falls into those golden eyes of his, still so warm and vibrant and powerful, with faint crow’s feet that have slowly crept their way there over the years; that’s when he sees him, old and tired and still so beautiful in the dim light, his husband, who’s gone through hell and back for him, who continues to give away every part of him, every day, for his sake, because he loves him, so much, so deeply, so purely, and that knowledge is almost too much to bear as Noctis finally leans forward to press a long, warm kiss against Gladio’s soft, parted lips.

‘I love you, Gladio,’ he whispers after reluctantly pulling himself away from him.

‘I love you too,’ Gladio whispers back, a wide smile slowly spreading across his lips.

‘ _Anyway_ ,’ Noctis says as he gets back up, shaking his head in an attempt to fight off the embarrassment of having let his emotions carry him away, ‘being 20 is overrated,’ he says as he finally starts burying his knuckles into Gladio’s lower back, prompting a surprised groan out of him.

‘That’s because _you_ were a dweeb at 20,’ Gladio laughs wryly. ‘I wasn’t.’

Noctis doesn’t respond, chooses to dig his knuckles into Gladio’s skin just a touch harder than he needs to instead.

_‘Easy,’_ Gladio says, not quite a whine, but not too far from it.

‘You’re at my mercy, tough guy. Tread lightly.’

‘Alright, alright,’ Gladio laughs in that low, heartfelt rumble of his that still manages to light a fire in the pit of Noctis’ stomach after all these years.

They fall silent again as Noctis continues to knead through Gladio’s aching muscles, tackling each knot with unforgiving pressure. There’s a pleasant familiarity to their quietness, this time around, and they both bask in its warmth, in how soothing and comforting each other’s mere presence is after being robbed of it for ten long years.

Noctis knows his work is almost done when Gladio starts squirming underneath him, never one to sit still for too long. But Noctis has one more trick up his sleeve.

‘Lemme try something, ok?’

Gladio nods in cautious agreement, looking over his shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of what he’s up to. Noctis throws a cynical grin his way before pressing both of his palms flat against the dimples of Gladio’s lower back. He closes his eyes, then, takes a deep breath, and…

‘Are you… using fire magic?’

‘Pretty cool, huh?’

‘Feels great. How have we never thought of that before?’

‘I saw Specs reheat his coffee that way the other day, he showed me how to do it,’ Noctis responds with a shrug and a quiet laughter. ‘Figured it’d work here too.’

‘I knew that was too smart to be your idea.’

‘I can do electricity, too, if you don’t shut up,’ Noctis warns, pressing more heat against Gladio’s back, just enough resemble the hint of a threat.

‘I’m done, I’m done,’ he laughs, and his voice falters into a moan as Noctis starts kneading the some more, applying just enough heat to keep things enjoyable.

After all this time, they deserve to take it easy, if only for a night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos are, as always, wildly appreciated! ♥
> 
> (Come yell with me on [tumblr](https://roadsoftrial.tumblr.com/) and [FFXV tumblr](https://thelegendarynoctgar.tumblr.com/)!


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